Entrepreneur Shri Thanedar Is Running For Michigan Governor

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LANSING (AP) - A scientist and entrepreneur who has experienced big highs and lows in business is running for Michigan governor in 2018.

Shri Thanedar, a Democrat, announced his candidacy in Detroit Thursday. The 62-year-old native of India founded the Ann Arbor chemical testing company Avomeen. He sold a controlling interest in the firm last year.

In the process, he gave $1.5 million in bonuses to roughly 50 employees.

Thanedar says he is running because he wants to "give back" and "help others achieve the American dream."

He lived in Michigan in the early 1980s, moved to Missouri and returned in 2010 after the Great Recession hit some businesses he had acquired hard — costing him the main company he founded and leading his home to be foreclosed.